Mistaken
by Me And Not You 1001
Summary: Itachi's dying. His disease is terminal and he's going two and a half years before he planned. There's nothing he can do about it, but make things right with his little brother. Set just before Sasuke deflects to Orochimaru. Character death. OOC-ishness. AU-ish. Two-shot, for now.
1. Chapter 1

Itachi shook, his entire body vibrating with the combination of sobs and shivers that could not be held in. _I'm sorry!_ He cried out with his thoughts. _I'm so sorry! How could I take from all of you that which I could not give myself?! How did you deserve this?! I am a monster! Forgive me! Please!_

The shinobi, only eighteen years of age, but all alone in the world, curled tighter into himself, begging the horrible night to end. Wishing to forget the memory, but knowing he deserved every ounce of pain he felt. Know it was he who cause this and he deserved to reap the thorns he'd sown. Even as his body rebelled against him, toward the dark and terrible punishment that awaited, much sooner than he'd planned.

 _I'M NOT READY! PLEASE, NOT YET! HE STILL NEEDS ME!_

 _"Iiiitaaaachiiii!"_ A light angelic voice barely a whisper and far off sang.

The young man, vulnerable in his illness, froze, his frame suddenly stiff, ready for anything.

 _"Iiiitaaaachiiii! Baaaabyyyy!"_

Itachi looked up and his jaw dropped. Before his eyes stood his mother dressed in white and bathed in light, as beautiful and perfect as the day he'd taken her life. "M-Mother?!"

 _"Baby? Why are you crying?"_

"M-Mother. Yo-you know why. I'm a monster, Mother. You gave birth to a monster."

 _"Oh nonsense! I gave birth to a boy. A beautiful, perfect, angelic little boy...two of them actually."_

"But...the things I've done...I'm a demon!"

 _"No!"_ The apparition strode toward him with stern determination. _"We forced this on you, Baby! You took what little light you could find in the blackest situation and you did your best! You did your best and both your father and I are very proud."_

"Mother. I cannot go, Mother. He needs me. He needs this."

The apparition shook her head. _"I'm sorry, Baby. You have to come with us. It's your time."_

Itachi's concentration broke for a moment as he curled into himself, fighting through a particularly terrible tremor wracked his sick bones, coughing violently as his throat, lungs, and head threatened to rip themselves apart from the inside.

"He needs me," he finally breathed at last, his voice hoarse and broken, nothing to the beautiful tenor it had been.

 _"Yes, he will always need you, but he has his friends. He has Naruto. He'll be alright. Give him the truth, Baby, and he will wax like a new moon, to shine bright, big, and new, glowing with the light of his sun."_

"The truth?" Itachi looked back up at the apparition, who nodded. His mother's spirit smiled at him lovingly.

 _"He needs that. Yes, give him the truth. He will do right by it and he deserves it. He's strong, Itachi. He can handle it."_

"But, what if-"

 _"Itachi,"_ the apparition placed a hand on her hip sternly, _"you are ill. You are running out of time. Now, do as your mother says. I know what's best for you, I always have."_

With a weary sigh, Itachi nodded. He reached to the nightstand, beside the bed in the hotel room he'd rented for however long it took him to recover from this particularly strong bout of his illness, though it appeared he never would. He opened the book he'd grabbed and tore out a few sheets of lined paper from the back. There, he addressed a letter to his little brother.

 _ **My Dearest Sasuke,**_

 _ **I have no words that can be written or spoken that will ever truly describe the depth of my love for you. You will read this and scoff. You will rage and become quite confused and for that I can only apologize, as it is all I seem to be able to do, when it comes to you. There is no better way for me to do this, but my time has come. I cannot seem to hold on, even for you, despite it being my greatest wish. You have been getting stronger and you are surrounded by strong friends. I know your teacher will keep you safe, so I will endeavor not too worry too much, but, here it is:**_

 _ **The truth.**_

 _ **That night, a great deal happened, and quite equally, just as much**_ _ **didn't**_ _ **happen. Know this, it**_ _ **didn't**_ _ **happen.**_

 _ **This book is my journal. I have kept it since I was eleven, when first I joined ANBU. It is technically an illegal record, but it will tell all. I pray you will believe me, but I cannot make you. I kept this from you because I believed it would,**_ ** _should_** _ **have died with me. I wanted you to take justice for the fall of our clan, by my death. It would have given you closure. It would have served as revenge. And I would have received the punishment that I rightly deserved, however, it would seem Fate has different plans.**_

 _ **By the time you get this, I**_ ** _will_** _ **be dead. I have had this disease for as long as I can remember. The doctors I've gone to all say it is terminal and incurable. I thought I had at least another three, maybe four years if I didn't push it.**_ _ **I was mistaken, not for the first time.**_

 _ **I will send this to you, via my summons. His name is Kashikoi. After my death, he will be yours, not as a summons, but my last order to him will be to protect you. He is strong and wise, trust him as you would me, the old me, whom you loved and worshiped far beyond what I rightfully deserved.**_

 _ **I am truly sorry, Little Brother. I love you more than anything in the world and I would give anything to see you smile again, as you used to, but I have no place upon this earth nor in your life, any longer.**_

 _ **I love you.**_

 _ **I love you so much it hurts. But I know you are cared for.**_

 _ **Keep Konoha, Sasuke, and with you and your Rookies caring for her, she will keep you.**_

 _ **Be wary of her darkness, for all the great light she has, just as equally is her darkness black.**_

 _ **I love you, Otouto.**_

 _ **Endeavor to be everything you wish, and more.**_

 _ **Forever your older brother,**_

 _ **Itachi.**_

 _ **P.S. Tell Kakashi-senpai, I am sorry for what I did to him in Konoha a couple of weeks ago. I had too keep up the act, but I hope it didn't damage him too much.**_

Itachi sighed falling back against the wall and his pile of pillows as a wave of weariness washed over him, but just as quickly shot forward, curling into a ball as bout of agonizing coughs tore at his lungs and throat, forcing him to throw up blood and what little food he'd managed to eat the evening before. He glanced to the right, where the image of his mother still stood, watching him with a loving look. He prayed she was not a hallucination.

 _"Come, Baby. Finish up and we can go."_

Itachi nodded and summoned Kashikoi. The crow took one look at him and bowed his head, a single large tear rolling out of his eye and dropping onto the bed. "Good-bye, you were a good master."

"Thank you, Kashikoi," Itachi rasped in a broken voice, "however, I have one last mission for you." The crow looked up. "Take this to my brother in Konoha. After he receives it, I request that you stay and protect him, as I would. I could bear leaving if I knew your wise eyes were watching him. And keep _that man_ away from him."

"I will. You have been good to us in such a way as no master has ever been. Good-bye, Itachi-sama."

Itachi laid back on the pillows with a dead sigh, before gathering the strength to seal the book and letter into the storage seal he wished for Kashikoi to take. "Good-bye, Kashikoi. Take care of him, for me."

The bird flew off and Itachi looked back to his mother, falling back on the pillows as another wave of utter tired took him. It took every ounce of strength in him simply to force his broken lungs to form half a breath. _"Come, Baby. It's time."_

With limbs that were almost too weak to move, he reached for her. She smiled at him, bright and beautiful, like an angel under Heaven's light. She took it, kissing the hand that looked four and five times its physical age.

Taking his other hand as well, she pulled him toward her, and even as she did, Itachi felt a great weight lift from his chest. Suddenly, he could breathe again, as he had when he was a young boy just entering ANBU. Suddenly, he felt himself, strong, undefeated, genius, capable of facing any trial with a stern face and a brilliant plan. He felt free like before the Massacre, except better, for no burden laid upon him as Clan Heir.

His mother laughed brightly as a smile split his face. _"Come, Baby. The others are waiting. Fugaku is near wit's end. No one quite knows how to handle Shisui. He yearns for you so."_

Itachi's beaming smile brightened. _"Of course, Mother. I am most eager to see Shisui as well. I have missed him more than any."_

* * *

 **Updated: 3/9/2019**

 **Sorry to any and all followers, it probably seems like I'm dead or something, because I haven't updated anything in so long, but I'm not. A lot has happened and I've been busy. I mostly just added a few minor details, fixed spelling and grammar, and such. The bigger changes will come next chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

Kakashi Hatake had never seen his Uchiha student cry. He'd never seen him openly weak emotionally, well that is to say said Uchiha never _showed_ his emotional weakness openly. Kakashi was a genius, he saw plenty more than Sasuke thought he did. That being said, Kakashi hadn't the slightest idea what he'd do if he _did_ ever come upon such a situation (as Sasuke crying). Thus, when he went to visit his friends at the memorial stone one dark and thundery day, right after he'd sneaked out of the hospital, he was quite floored to find a shivering Sasuke, tears streaming from bright red eyes, spinning in a dizzying way as he poured over a rough looking blue book.

The boy made no more to wipe his tears away. He didn't seem to care about his sharingan. All he could do was read, turning the pages faster and faster, though never ripping or damaging the book with each hurried turn. Beside the Uchiha was a sheet of paper with fold marks, like a letter, and at the top of the memorial stone sat a large black bird, a crow.

Kakashi watched as Sasuke finished the book, hunching over it, his silent tears turned into pained sobs.

"Sasuke," he finally got the courage to speak, "what is it?"

"WHAT IS HE TRYING TO DO?!" The boy demanded, falling to his knees in the grass, wrapping his arms around himself and the book, as though trying to ward out the world. "WHY WOULD HE DO THIS?! WHY IS HE SO **FUCKING** EVIL?! IT ISN'T TRUE! IT CAN'T BE TRUE!"

Watching his student break before his eyes, Kakashi did the only thing he knew to do. He didn't speak, or send for help. He didn't try to see what had upset the poor boy so. He just knelt down beside him and pulled him into a hug. When Kakashi, himself, had broken, that was what he wanted most in the world. A warm, reassuring hug. A hug that told him he wasn't alone in the evil black shadows of the world.

Kakashi was not surprised when his student fell into his embrace like a fish taking to water after nearly drowning. The broody boy lost all thoughts of darkness and simply cried. Cried for all he had and all he was.

Kakashi hadn't a clue how long he held the boy. He didn't bother to contemplate how late he was to the jounin meeting with the Hokage, or how late he was for the team meeting after that. He'd just gotten out of the hospital a that day. The same went for Sasuke. After the disaster on the hospital roof, Kakashi thought a menial D-rank would be just the thing to make his team feel as though things were at least a little normal, but that had been canceled the moment he'd found Sasuke.

So, when Naruto and Sakura arrived at the Memorial Stone, followed quickly by Tsunade, the jounin and their teams, Kakashi was both surprised and not. Rubbing Sasuke's back reassuringly, he beckoned the others over, but mimed silence, less for anyone else and more (a lot more) for Naruto. Cautiously, they all came, each with vastly confused looks on their faces. Kakashi saw Shikamaru, Sakura, and the jounin (and Tsunade) clock the crow still sitting atop the Memorial Stone, but no one spoke.

Minutes passed, then half an hour.

Finally, Sasuke fell silent. He didn't release his sensei, but he did stop crying.

Another half hour passed.

Finally, again, Sasuke sat up. He blinked at the company, but made no sound nor reaction. Everyone stared, waiting, but ever the impatient one, Naruto started everything.

"What's up, Teme?" It was so nonchalant, most would think the blonde had just happened upon his teammate engrossed in a random hobby, rather than caught crying whilst clinging to their sensei for dear life, after both had almost killed each other in a stupid spar that neither should have been partaking in.

"I have a new ambition." The Uchiha answered, just as nonchalantly.

"Wha-what kind of a-ambition, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, tentatively, still worried about the disaster at the hospital rooftop.

"I will discover the truth...and bring it to light."

There was a beat of silence before Naruto's face contorted into a confused frown. "Whadda ya mean "discover the truth" and "bring it to light"?" He asked dramatically mimicking his friend.

The Uchiha smirked. "Don't you know the definition of truth, Dobe?"

"OF COURSE I DO, YOU STUPID TEME! I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT TRUTH YOU'RE TALKIN' ABOUT!"

The Uchiha smirked, again, but it was a dark, icy smirk that promised pain to any who opposed him. "The truth about Konoha." A shiver ran through the present shinobi over genin level. That did not sound good.

However, surprisingly, Sakura nodded. "That's a lot better ambition than killing someone," she said softly, her face contemplative. "I like the thought of bringing light to the truth."

Tsunade frowned glaring at Kakashi for what his genin had started, even as Shikamaru, of all people, nodded his assent. "I, too, agree. It's troublesome, but it'll be more troublesome if we leave the truth where it's at."

Neji and Hinata both nodded at the same time. "I-i ag-agree." "I concur." Kiba frowned, but the loud Inuzuka didn't say anything loud or brazen as he normally would, he simply glanced at his best friend and nodded. The best friend that he looked at shifted slightly as though uncomfortable, before nodding as well. "I, too, have such a wish. Why? That remains to be seen." Ino and Choji, who'd both been silent through the whole exchange, as well as Tenten and Lee, all exchanged looks, before Lee exclaimed in a much more subdued tone than normal, "We shall help our youthful friends in whatever endeavor they choose!"

Last, Naruto stood studying his friends' strangely serious faces, putting together in his mind what they could be talking about. Being that slightly slow individual he was, it took a moment or two to discover that they were all talking about different things, that could possibly coincide but probably didn't, and that he had his own truth or two that he wanted the full answer to.

"Yeah," he said lightly, almost in a breath manner. "I think that Konoha's awesome and everything, but all the dark things that happen...they shouldn't be hidden. It's stupid and it hurts the people involved. I'm with ya, Teme and everybody else. Let's make Konoha even better than it is now! By bringing ALL the dark things to light and FIXING them!"

Now all the jounin were openly frowning. Their students were talking to each other as though they all knew something, but wouldn't say until they knew for certain. They also were talking as though it was nothing more than pulling dirty old shirts out of the back of the closet and cleaning them, not digging up dark shinobi secrets, full of death, violence, and unethically, utterly immoral situations.

"We may have a problem on our hands," Tsunade muttered a bit darkly.

"Why stop them?" Asuma surprised them by asking. "I've been noticing holes in common truths as well and am quite tempted to join in their little quest."

"I concur," Kakashi replied. "I have noticed also. We are known as the strongest shinobi village, because of our Will of Fire and love of our comrades, but I, of all people, know Konoha casts that much bigger of a shadow. Why not let them get rid of it? They are the future, let them lead how they want."

Kurenai nodded as well, her face calm and expressionless. "It will happen whether we condone it or not. This bunch is as stubborn as they come and twice as capable...if only by luck."

"Their youthful flames will cast away the shadows of the shinobi world!"

Tsunade studied her four jounin, her brow furrowed. "Somehow I feel like just trying to talk you four into talking your genin out of it would be near impossible. Well, all I can say is, don't do anything illegal and don't die. There are people that will kill to keep their skeletons in the closet where they were hidden."

Throughout their talk, the jounin had lost track of the genins' conversation. Thus, when they turned, they found the group sitting completely still (strange for quite a few of them) on the wet ground, fanned around the memorial stone, listening to Sakura Haruno read out of small book with a faded blue cover.

 **I had always kept just a bit of my abilities hidden. At times I would wonder if I was broken in some way, that whomever had made us had made me incorrectly. My instincts always seemed to point me in the direction opposite to where Father and the Clan wanted me to go. My instincts told me things that others did not seem to comprehend. Shisui, too, said he felt this way, when I asked him last night, but that I found was hardly reassuring.**

 **But, I cannot complain. I will not complain. It is my duty to Sasuke to be in the best position that I can to protect him. ANBU is far from my desire, but I will do it. For my Little Brother and for Konoha.**

 **That being said. I enjoyed watching my new teammates squirm. Shisui always says I have a strange sense of humor, but I find it is advantageous to place the powerful in vulnerable situations, it tests to see who they truly are. It is ill advised to any, to follow a weak leader.**

* * *

Update: 3/9/2019

So, I completely switched up the ending. Why? I got a review from someone, saying something about my Sasuke accepting the truth too easily and it really hit a nerve. Not an irritated nerve, but an exasperated one. My thought process resembled: "Oh really! Why'd you have to use such logic? Now my lazy butt has to get on the computer a fix it!" I was definitely channeling my inner-Nara. Anyway, I hope this is more realistic, given the circumstances.

If you would like me to continue this please review and tell me how and what you think.


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